summer festival from song and dance to
drama, and from the folk-games--the 'Induction of May,' the 'Induction
of Autumn,' the 'Play of the King and the Queen,' which, separately or
together, were performed at least as early as the thirteenth century--to
the 'May-game' or 'King's game' of the middle of the fifteenth century.
Going back again to the thirteenth century, and crossing over to France,
we find in the _fetes du mai_--which were evolved, with the help of the
minstrels, from the French folk's summer festival--the names of Robin
and Marion customarily appropriated to the king and queen of these
_fetes_.

Now between 1450 and 1500 the May-game becomes associated in England
with Robin Hood: setting aside the possibility that Bower's reference,
mentioned above, to 'comedies and tragedies,' may allude to the
May-game, we can find many entries, in parish records from all parts of
England, which show that the summer folk-festival has developed into a
play of Robin Hood. Further, it has been very plausibly suggested[8]
that about the same time the _French_ Robin, becoming confused with the
English one, brought in Marion (a French name), and thus supplied our
Robin Hood with his Maid Marian, who has no place in the true ballads of
the outlaw.

In 1473 Sir John Paston wrote a letter in which he refers to a servant,
of whom he says, 'I have kepyd hym this iii yer to pleye Saynt Jorge and
Robyn Hod and the Shryff of Nottyngham.' There has also survived a leaf
of manuscript--perhaps it is only an accident that it was formerly in
the possession of the first editor of the _Paston Letters_--of about the
same date, which contains a portion of the play to which Sir John
refers, that of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham,[9] which is
founded upon a story similar to that of the ballad of _Robin Hood and
Guy of Gisborne_ (see p. 128). Besides this fragment, we have in William
Copland's edition of the _Gest_ a dramatic appendix of 'the playe of
Robyn Hoode, verye proper to be played in Maye games' (printed _c._
1560); this in fact consists of two plays carelessly tagged together,
first _Robin Hood and the Friar_ (who is distinctly called Friar Tuck),
and second, _Robin Hood and the Potter_ (partly founded on the ballad of
that name). Friar Tuck, it should be noted, occurs also in the earlier
fragmentary play; but there is no friar in Robin Hood's 'meynie' in any
of the older ballads, and no Maid Marian in either the older ball